Tinkering with getting a progressive press to load mainly pistol ammo on but possibly 223-300 blackout pistol cal will be 9/10mm. I’ve only ever loaded in a single stage. What do y’all recommend or suggest?
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Dillon would be my first choice. Great machines, and great customer service. They’ve got a lot of aftermarket support as well. I’ve spent a lot of time behind the 650 and the Super 1050. I’ve loaded on the Hornady Lock N Load as well. It loads ammo just fine. I just prefer the Dillons. -
I use a Dillon 550 and live it. You really can’t go wrong with a Dillon.Comment
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I’ve had three. Dillon 650 is what I own now and will never have anything else. Love it.Comment
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I currently have 2 Dillon 650s. The Dillon progressives are hard to beat. Depending on volume there is the Square Deal B, RL550 , XL650 (now replaced by the 750) and the 1050. I've had each of the first three and they are all great machines. There is an ad on THF for 2 Square Deal Bs right now. He is asking 2x too much in my opinion but they are a place to start.Comment
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I use a Lee progressive press. It'll load all pistol cartridges and .223 sizes. It's really fast and accurateComment
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I have a 650xl, and a square deal b. I picked up the sq. deal on ebay for $225. Load .44 mag with it, and mostly .45acp on the 650.
Still load most rifle rounds on a single stage, actually a lee classic turret, just handy to have both dies set up. Stick powders don't measure well by volume, and I load for precision.
5.56 is pretty cheap buying bulk. I load for 5.56 bolt action.
9mm isn't a lot of savings either.Comment
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Really depends on how much you want to load and what rate of production
4 factors in progressive
Auto indexing, number of stations, change overs and case fee re
Auto indexing means the shell plate advances with you working the press. The sq deal and 550 are manual index. You have to rotate the shell. The 750 and Hornady lnl ap are auto index. As you work the press it rotates the shell plate. This allows your production rate to be much higher
Number of stations
Sq deal and 550 @are 4 stations
750 and lnl ap are 5 stations so you can run a powder check
Change overs
Dillion has change over tool heads on 550 and 750. These are nice but makes change overs more expensive. The Hornady has sleeves which is cheaper but not quite as fast
Case feeder
Some press can take a case feeder others can’t
Either Hornady or Dillion will work. I would watch ultimate reloaded. He has some great videos going over each press.
Realize that you start with press but accessories add up quickly. You need to shoot a lot of rounds to justify the purchase imoComment
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Dillon 550 or 650
Sierracharlie out…Comment
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Dillon, at least a 450, possibly a 550. I have had both a Square Deal, which is only for pistols and I have a 450 now. Don't waste any money on a Square Deal, you will regret it, once you get a Dillon.
With a Dillon, you have blocks, you set your dies up in. So once you have set the dies up, you don't need to touch them again. Just buy enough blocks for each caliber you load. Then just change the block out and the shell plate, if needed. Much faster than a single stage, to switch to a different caliber and get loading. The primer tube you naturally have a large and a small primer adaptor tubes and piece the seats the primers.
Now, if you keep your eyes open, you will likely find a Dillon 450 or 550 on facebook market place, cheap. I have found two 450s and one 550 on facebook market place in the past two months. I think one or more may still be available, I am pretty sure the last one I saw, was only a few days ago, to a week ago. You can load with other loading presses to get some experience in, then get a Dillon and use it and you will see after you load three or four different calibers, that there is no reason to consider any other brand. I started out with a RCBS Rock Chucker, then got a Square Deal to load pistol ammo, since at the time, I figured I would only load pistol ammo in large numbers. After having the Square deal for a short time and seeing the advantages of a Dillon, the Square Deal got put in the cabinet and I got a 450, I have had the 450 for probably 28 years. I keep trying to tell my buddy to get one, makes loading so much easier, much less of a hassle, to switch calibers. I used to know guys many years ago, that had many RCBS Rock Chuckers and or Lee presses, each set up for one caliber. They had to have multiple long loading benches to mount all of those presses, but they did not have to reset them up every time they wanted to load a different caliber. With a Dillon, you don't need that much space, still faster to load a lot of rounds, than having 10 different presses each set up for a different caliber. I have been thinking about buying another 450 or a 550, then setting one up to load calibers that use small primers and the other set up for large primers. If I keep seeing those cheap 450 and 550s, I probably will do that.
As for the idea, that using a single stage, you will get more precise ammo, nope. I do drop all of my powder charges by hand, I used to use the charging bar for pistol ammo years ago, when I was loading a lot of ammo, but I have not used a charging bar in probably 20 years. Even though it's a four stage press, I resize and deprime a case, clean the primer pocket, if it is a case that has been fired, resize the case, then chamfer the case. Then reprime the case. I don't move each case to the next station, they all get that done to them. Then I start measuring powder, dumping the charge and then seating the bullets as I charge each case. Too many times over the years, I have had multiple cases full of powder and had the tray they were in knocked over. So I charge the case and immediately seat the bullet. Much less chance of the powder getting spilled. But doing it the way I do, using a multistage press, I don't have to set up the resizing die, then resize and prime all the cases, Then remove the sizing die, then set up the bullet seating die. Then charge and seat the bullets. I leave the dies set up. Then when I want to load a different caliber, I grab that block, with the dies for that caliber, swap it out, then swap shell plate if needed and possibly the primer tube and the primer seater, if needed. It's much faster than a single stage and just as accurate.Last edited by RifleBowPistol; 01-21-2020, 10:51 PM.Comment
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Dillon 550 or 650.
I have a Square Deal for sale. It’s a good press but I don’t use it.
I have a 550 and it works very well for me. The only other one I would consider is a 650/750, but I swap calibers quite a bit.
I had a Lee progressive for about 3 days and sent it back to midway. I like lee dies, casting equipment, single stage and turret presses, but the progressive sucks.Comment
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SD is auto index. It’s just a small work area to place cases and bullets.Originally posted by TxLonghorn View PostComment
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Yes, the square deal is auto index, and it is a Dillon.
The only thing I don't like about it is the small footprint of the shell plate.Comment
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Yes definitely a DillonComment
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For loading pistol and revolver ammunition you just can't beat the Dillon Square Deal B. Unless you go with the case feed on the 650/750. I have five of them set up for my most used calibers. If I'm gonna load 500 or more rounds I'll use the 650's.
In your situation I'd get the Square Deal B and load the .223 and blackout on the single stage. You can always upgrade to a 650/750 later.Comment
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